Category Archives: Woodworking

CNC – another satisfied customer

Posted on October 8, 2017 by jimbo

This is a 6″ wide, 3 foot long chunk of the side of some old barn that someone tore down and left the pile “free wood”. The planks are a foot wide by 10′ long or so, I have to … Continue reading →

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CNC – a much needed repair

Posted on September 24, 2017 by jimbo

I decided that I absolutely wasn’t going to cut anything else on the big CNC before fixing the Z nut. The hack I made to get it installed in the first place has never worked properly, but it was really … Continue reading →

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Drill Press — measure twice, cut once.

Posted on September 17, 2017 by jimbo

With yet a little more care, I was able to produce a perfect set of pole clamps, and I got them all drilled and sawed and drilled and clamp bolt installed, … and I’d cut them too big in the … Continue reading →

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Drill Press – found my mojo again (well, most of it)

Posted on September 11, 2017 by jimbo

This was one of those days where you spend 1.5 hours setting up for 15 minutes of cutting. I was really careful, and got the drill press table level, then installed a stop block parallel to the bit, then tilted … Continue reading →

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How to set up a drill press for compound angles, an investigation

Posted on September 10, 2017 by jimbo

So, I’m stuck trying to get the drill press set up for truss pole seats (They have both a “spread” angle and a “rake” angle that need to be set). I couldn’t figure out how to make my CNC’d jig … Continue reading →

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CNC – Put the horse to work

Posted on September 9, 2017 by jimbo

I’ve been trying to get a CAD solution that doesn’t require me to be sitting at the computer in the shop, which for me means it has to run on Mac. I tried out LibreCAD, and I’m starting to get … Continue reading →

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CNC – Hello, G-Code.

Posted on August 6, 2017 by jimbo

The scripting language that CNC machines use is called G Code. There are lots of commands, said Google. But the first few are about moving the machine. G0 – rapid move (linear) G1 – controlled speed move (pass Feedrate in … Continue reading →

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CNC Build – And that’s how we do that.

Posted on August 5, 2017 by jimbo

Today, I decided that I was ready to start making some sawdust again. I had gathered and sorted all my endmills last night, and I found the one that had tried to kill me all those years ago. By the … Continue reading →

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CNC Build – Back in the game!

Posted on July 28, 2017 by jimbo

I decided that I was going to figure out the sensor cable today, once and for all, one way or the other. And, spoiler alert, I did. I cut the zip ties and looked at the way the port is … Continue reading →

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CNC Build – Stupid cables

Posted on July 24, 2017 by jimbo

Connecting the new sensor cable is tough — it’s a “real” RS232 cable, so the female end has two protruding female studs, so that two cables can be bolted together. This totally doesn’t work with the way I attached the … Continue reading →

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